Episode LIII: Jack and the Baseball Field
WHO: Cathak Lera, Ninten, Peleps Kaizoku Seki, Samurai Jack, Tepet Inatera
WHEN: The future, where my evil is law
WHAT: Jack's travels have brought him to Bordertown, on the outskirts of a wide field now targeted for paving over and use by Aku's allies. While a trio of Dynasts converse in a seedy bar, a little boy bursts in with a sickly animal native to the local fields, calling for help.
WATCH FOR: The Elegant Boost Assistance method, and an answer to the eternal question: how springboardy is Seki's head?
The sky-blue wheat has been growing tall and healthy. The sun has begun to slowly set in the west, casting the sky a deep orange. There is an oscillating chitter, and then another. One pair of beady eyes opens, obscured some between the stalks of wheat. The creature extends its little purple hornlike nose, giving out another chitter. Another pair of eyes opens in the wheatfield, and a pink creature extends its tiny paws, peering out from its post crawling on the stalk. The little ball-shaped creatures chirp and jabber happily at each other.
A heavy sound grows on the horizon. The sky is red; black smoke gathers overhead.
The little creatures jabber in a panic and scatter, jumping from stalk to stalk, bending the wheat until it bounces back. Two red dots light up against the smog-filled sky. A tall, spindly black robot in a striped uniform directs its spiked field-clearing tank in a turn, paving over the wheat of the field. Another robot in the same uniform follows behind, slouched low to the ground, painting a white line behind the machine.
Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shapeshifting master of darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil.
But a foolish samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose me.
Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future, where my evil is law.
Now, the fool seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that is Aku.
Black spires tower over a blood-red sky in one of Aku's border towns, on the outskirts of an open expanse of Earth which has yet to be subject to the industrial paving of the aliens who come from across the galaxy to Aku's world: bounty hunters, opportunists, industrialists, strip-miners. In a seedy bar in this border outpost, smoke fills the air. Robots in fedoras and pinstripe suits are seated playing cards with dark brown lobster-creatures with eyepatches and tattoos. The doors of the futuristic black saloon slide open, and a pair of tiny red LED eyes peer inside. The spindly robot slides its head one side with a whirr to observe the patrons, then another, and then walks past the patrons, raising an arm to begin posting on the bar's notice board. Next to a profile shot of a samurai warrior noting 'ANSWERS TO JACK' and with a sizable bounty price attached, the robot posts a note with large text: 'JOBS AVAILABLE - Clearing Local Vermin - Pays Well - New Stadium Under Construction.'
Heat waves rise out of one of the corners of the seedy bar, a particuarly surly-looking robot sitting, somewhat foreshortened, on the ground. That robot is facing away from a steel table, which is occupied by pathetic flesh-sacks. Of course, one of the pathetic flesh-sacks is still surrounded by a faintly luminous field of flame, even if it's dimmed enough to feel more like sitting near a fireplace rather than near a blast furnace.
"You just can't let the robots push you around," Inatera tells her companions, hands folded on the tabletop, Hound's Sixth Tooth resting leaning against her thigh. "Certainly they are pleasant enough, but if you let them manage that 'flesh-bag' nonsense, you just end up pressed down by the metal man." She drums her fingers on the table, then, with a faint rat-a-tat.
"Oh, look at that," she observes, pointing towards the incoming figure with the sign. "Isn't it quaint? It's positively barbaric out here." While she isn't shouting, she's not lowering her voice very well, either.
"'Pressed down'?" Peleps Kaizoku Seki shakes his head, clucking his tounge in prim dissaproval. "'tera, 'tera, 'tera. When will you learn basic social skills?" Seki leans a hand around his other companion's shoulders. "Our young friend here is still an innocent, Inatera, and little comments like that, even if it has been a while since you've gotten pressed down by anything interesting, will only lead to the corrosion of her moral center."
"Huh, that sounded dirty too." Seki blinks, rubbing the back of his head. "Man, everything can sound dirty if you give it the right spin. It's like I'm trapped in a world of innuendo and double entendre! Trapped... forever!"
Seki then whistles at the price, "Gotta admit, it's nice to be worth that kinda cash. Can't buy rep like that."
"Oh, Captain Seki, it is quite all right, I have been pressed--" Lera is thankfully interrupted when her drink arrives. She smiles at the robot waiter, tips her fingers to her brow, and gives him a little salute. "Oh, why, thank you! I do hope I will find this drink good. I always enjoy local specialties." She lifts it up, and takes a sip, before she looks back at Inatera.
"I believe I heard of worlds like this," she states. "Something to the effect of welcoming a robot overlord. I hardly see why, though." She takes a sip of her drink. "After all, robot overlords hardly have the grace of the dragons with them."
At about this time a man in a white robe and a large straw hat enters through the saloon door. He walks with his head down, never making eye-contact as he makes his way across the floor and takes a seat far away from the crowd. The patrons gathered are likely eyeing him warily, especially if they've noticed the wanted poster. Whether or not they will act however remains to be seen.
Perhaps the strangest thing is that the man doesn't seem to be bothered by whatever stares he receives. Instead he simply continues about his business and takes a seat at the bar and quietly orders something to drink.
"Rrrrobots," one of the crustacean aliens growls, his antennae twitching as he lays out four aces and a queen on the table. "Don't get me started about the rrrrobots." One of the gangster robots it's playing against raises its head mechanically, adjusting its fedora as it stares at him silently. "Yeah? That's rrrright. I'm talkin' 'bout you. You wanna step outside?"
The entrance of the stranger in the white robe casts a sudden silence on the bar. A lot of strangers pass through these parts, of course - but word travels, and that outfit looks familiar. The aliens and the robots exchange silent glances, words being said without any sound.
Beady electronic eyes.
Twitching antennae.
"You guys!!" A little boy in a cap and a striped shirt, who can't be over thirteen years old and is probably younger, runs into the bar, apparently having looked for some distance for a building with people to duck into. He cradles a little orange puffball about the size of a squirrel, coughing weakly and looking rather sickly. "Does anybody know where I can find a veterinarian?!"
The entire bar.
The uproarious laughter that follows is probably the only thing that prevents anybody from drawing a weapon. A couple of spindly robots in striped uniforms rise from their seats, quietly walking over towards the boy.
Seki blinks, once, briefly...
...no. That's just. No. Never happened. She's taking the mickey out on him. He's going to kick Nigele's ass. Or should he kick her ass for taking advantage of Niegle's innocence? Seki can never remember how that works.
Seki makes a mental note to try and recruit this Jack into the Mithril Alliance, since this place looks pretty damn evil overlordy. And then the whole bar is laughing at that poor little kid! "Hoo! Veterinarian!" Seki slaps his knee, because he can be a jerk sometimes, though the laughter seems more...forced, as he notices the uniformed robots stand, and his hand lazily lulls in the general direction of his boot. His compnaions are probably well aware that Seki makes it a policy to try and hide a weapon just about everywhere, decency permitting of course.
Inatera fu fu fus to herself and raises an eyebrow. "Perhaps I should have asked him to dinner?" She then smiles at Lera, perhaps indulgently, and leans back in the chair to avoid heating the drink excessively.
She squints at the sign then. "Hmm, well," she muses aloud, "it is certainly dramatic." She looks at Lera to ask her, "Have you had a price put on your head in any quarters? It's certainly an endorsement when it happens... as long as it's a high price."
Then, of course, the question comes out, and Inatera is distracted by Seki for a moment, mishearing the word. "A veteran?" she says over the laughter, looking at Lera with a frown. "He must have some military question. Come on," she continues, rising to her feet and picking up her magical blade. "We should educate him - and you are less fiery than I."
The man in the white robe does not turn around when the boy enters the bar and the laughter begins but he does seem to be paying attention. Though his hat does obscure his eyes quite a bit the man definitely seems to be glancing around the bar and acessing the situation. Subtly, he extends a hand and and tries to wave the boy over. It's not a very noticeable gesture, especially in recent confusion, but it's certainly there. Whether or not the boy and his fuzzball make their way over the to the man in the white robe will be up to how well they are paying attention.
Otherwise he sips his drink quietly and continues his policy of not making eye-contact with his fellow patrons.
"Might have gone better," Lera says, with a sigh. She would pat Inatera on the shoulder, but complicated social rituals prevent her from doing just that. Instead, she smiles over a drink she may not be old enough to have, and then takes another sip of it before she looks at Seki - and tries to figure out what seems so funny about a veterinarian. Thn, she looks at the boy, for a moment, and nods her head.
"None yet," she says, "but a goal to strive for!" The younger officer stands up, dusting herself off, and smiles wider as she approaches Ninten.
"You seek a veteran?" she asks. "We are such!"
Ninten, it seems, has misheard in turn, looking up to Lera and Inatera as they approach him, with a relieved smile. "Oh, thank you! There's been some kind of, um... strippity-mall construction or something? And I found this little guy, and he says his people have been getting hurt! Isn't that right?" Ninten looks down to the orange thing he's cradling in his arms, which gives a tired, elongated squeak out of its nose-horn. "I'll pay for his hospital fees but you've got to help him. He's really sick, and I think he's hurt." Ninten reaches up to Lera, holding out the orange squeakball to be picked up, and then his eyes roll to the side. He didn't notice the visual gesture from the man in white, but he just barely heard an inviting thought from the crowd. "I'm, um. I'm gonna get a milk!"
Ninten disappears into the shadows of the crowd, bumping awkwardly between heavily-armed pig-beasts and slender, ragged aliens, looking over to the man in the straw hat. His "Hello?" is quiet and low-key, lost in the noise of the bar for most. Equally low-key is the light brushing of one of the striped-uniform robots by the Dynasts, which may bump the orange creature out of the kind of light cradling hold it needs, and then the quiet motion to pick the orange creature up as the robot moves smoothly out of the bar.
The uniformed robots didn't attack.
"Damnit." Seki swears to himself, easing his gun back into its hidden holster. This can't be good. Smart spies?! Only one thing to do.
"*beepboopbeep* Sasstron Theta, your jest does not compute. Surely the Crabulons are good for more than serving as the meaty foundation of a delicious crab taco salad! For example: Baltamore Crab Soup, Crab Cakes, and several other similar confections! Begin hilarity protocol!"
Again glad that he took that ventriloquism class in primary school, Seki subtly gets up, and jerks with his finger towards the door. "When the first chair's thrown, run."
"Oh, a doctor," Inatera says, looking at the orangey thing with confusion. It's - alive? What IS it... Of course, then the things bump up ahead, and during this time, a sudden whirr from over to the side distracts her for one crucial moment. Somewhere, a bunch of dice come up '1's.
"We could call Sylene," she says, looking back to Lera, too late?
Lera looks down at the orange thing in her arms with a mix of emotions; she has enough compassion to feel bad for the little animal, as Ninten would certainly not lie - he seems like an earnest child to her! However, she has no idea what it is, and no clue what the animal might need. She nods loosely to him. "I-- I shall do my best," she finally concludes.
She swallows, and then looks back at Inatera. "That may be best. She would know better."
Then, she looks up at Seki; the young woman blinks, in confusion. "What, um, what happened? Are we leaving?" She holds the little orange fluffball up. "He needs help, it would appear!" She is bumped into, then, resulting in a suddenly free, cute, little orange creature. Lera makes a face, and frowns as the robot grabs for it. Her eyes narrow. "Gh... after it!"
"Greetings." the man in white robe replies quietly before taking another sip of his drink. "I do not meant to be abrupt but I think it is best if you keep a close eye on your friend. It is not safe here." the samurai notes, then drinks again. "Also you said you were seeking a veterinarian? I am not entirely familiar with that term but if I understand properly I might be able to help."
"It isn't? Gosh... thanks, mister," Ninten replies to the man in the straw hat. He peers around the perimeter of the bar, and turns back to the man. "Yeah! A veterinarian, you know, a person who went to school to know how to... veteri... nate." He looks confused for a moment, and then adds, "An animal doctor! Well, that is, a doctor for animals, not an animal who is a doctor. Usually they aren't, and I guess an animal could be any kind of doctor it wanted if it got its degree. I believe that people can do anything they want if they put their mind to it!" A big smile spreads across his face.
A narrow view of the robot bumping across Cathak Lera. The little orange fuzzball falls to the ground, thumping and squeaking uncomfortably. It flails its little paws, rolling around on the ground until it gets right side up. Red eyes flash quickly to the side, forming lines in the air.
Crustacean hands slam down onto a table. Oil martinis and cards fly into the air.
"SO YOU THINK WE'RRRRE FUNNY, DO YOU? I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO LAUGH ABOUT!"
A fierce punch sends one of the gangster robots' heads spinning. One of them draws a tommy gun, firing laser bolts, searing through the bar walls. Ninten ducks as a table goes flying. A pig-beast marches past Peleps Kaizoku Seki, looking warily around, until it's jumped by a lobster-man. Beady robot eyes light red in multitudes. One of the striped-uniform robots draws a hiltlike device and pushes a button, ejecting a glowing red laser projection in the shape of a bat, and then swinging the laser bat in a home run smash for Cathak Lera's head in the cover of the brawl. A little boy calls out in the fracas, "Oh no!" A pig-man tries to break a wine bottle on Seki's head. Two striped figures, one smaller and wider than the other, come in with base-stealing slides for the orange creature on the floor.
"Glorious." Seki revels in BAR FIIITTTEEE and then the little thing gets away trapping them in the bar and the kid wanders off and
CRASH.
"...wooo~" Seki squeeks, having been throughly smashed over the head with a wine bottle, his hair dripping with the "wine" as he stumbles in place, his eyes swirls of confused light. Oh noz, who will save him?!
Tepet Inatera.
Inatera is practically right there right away, blurring through the air as she snaps to alertness. She has no idea what's going on, but she has an enormous magical sword and the social authority to cut things up with it. Supporting the stunned Seki with one arm, she shouts out towards Lera, "Do you see what I mean?!" while abruptly slicing towards the pig man with the aforementioned enormous magical sword!
She's barely noticed that the orange thing exists; this may be on Lera's head if she wants to save it from what is doubtless a deadly menace.
When the table goes flying the man in the white robe does not duck, he turns. There is a momentary flash and a zwing sound before the table splits into two around him and Ninten. Samurai Jack sheathes his sword and turns towards Ninten, still halfway in a combat stance. "Ah yes, an animal doctor. I might be able to help with that. But first I am afraid we will have to rescue your friend." Jack states, gesturing towards the door. "I prefer to enjoy my tea in peace anyway, and that certainly will not happen here."
With that said Jack extends a hand towards Ninten. If he takes it the samurai will likely scoop up the boy and take off after the robots who just went after the orange fuzzy creature. So far he seems oblivious to Inatera, Lera and Seki. This could quickly change however now that Jack may have drawn some attention to himself.
Lera's eyes widen, as she sees the beam bat form into existence and swing straight for her head. She doesn't have to think for long - her left hand strikes out, grabbing a bottle by the neck, and she lifts the piece of glass up. When it strikes the beam bat, it glows with a faint red light - and then explodes into flame in her hand. She smiles a little.
"Ten thousand Dragons rule the world!" she snaps at her robotic assailant, before she pushes forward - and delivers a mean kick for its stomach.
She does her best to follow the little orange fuzzball in the chaos, but that proves hard. "Does anyone know why this started?!" she shouts, as she swings her bottle away, and delivers it again in a mighty smack aimed for the robot's head.
The bulbous pig-beast who assaulted Seki is in turn felled effortlessly by Inatera. Two of the striped-uniform robots run out the doors of the saloon. The one with the beam-bat is unable to make a break for it, its blow blocked by ten thousand dragons ruling the world. The vicious kick to its stomach, sending it sprawling backwards into the bar, twisting its spine backwards, shortly before it catches flame and explodes. "You're right," Ninten replies to his new friend, and takes his hand without a second thought, carried off in a leap after the escaping robots. Ninten leans over Jack's back as he carries through the bar, though, calling out to Inatera and then Lera as he passes them. "Missus Veterinarians, somebody took the little guy! -- Are you okay?" It looks dangerous in here! Luckily for Jack, the confusion from the bar brawl has largely concealed people from noticing him springing into action, or remembering he was there. For now, at least - although there are some of those gangster robots, rather successful in the middle of the brawl thanks to their tommy guns, turning their heads sharply now. The little orange fuzzball is, of course, gone - or rather in the hands of one of two striped uniform robots now outside, climbing into an enormous spiked tanklike vehicle and driving away.
"Not because of that handsome pirate fellow!" Seki says in his normal voice, blinking once and shaking his head, annoyed at himself for letting this happen. The 'not keeping the BS up' bit, not the 'causing a bloody bar fight' bit. The Kaizoku steps forward, sticking his tounge out and pulling a pistol out of his coat.
Ka-FIRE! The plunger goes flying through the air, right at the back of the death tank! "Hang on!" Seki, card carrying SPCA member, gets ready to street ski, along with anyone brave enough to come along.
Inatera looks over at the young man, beaming despite being covered in pig-guy blood. "Oh, I'm fine!" she calls, raising her hand from around Seki slightly to waggle fingers in a friendly wave, casually parrying a drunken swing of a chair at her head. She opens her mouth to say more -
But then the street skiing is imminent. "Oh dear," she says aloud, shifting her weight so that when Seki is abruptly jerked forwards, she too will be towed along.
"I saw! They must have made it outside!" Lera says to Ninten, before she turns - leaving the damaged robot behind. She frowns; then, as she rushes out, she sees Seki fire his plunger gun. "This seems... moderately dangerous," she concludes, before grabbing a hold of Inatera and making a Dragon-Blooded train. "But I see little other option at this point!"
Despite his better judgment Samurai Jack also latches onto the chain as he exits the establishment. Even if it is dangerous the truth is that staying near the bar is more so. Besides, the samurai has done quite a few things that were more dangerous before. "Hold on!" he says to the boy in tow. He then turns to look at Lena, who he has just grabbed a hold of. "My apologies miss, my friend is trying to rescue his pet."
The paving tank zooms off at speeds improbable for a machine of its bulk, Ninten being the last to grab onto the chain, just barely in time. The tank, and the collection of Dynasts and then non-Dynasts trailing it, go speeding down paved roads between black citadels and seedy alleys, as the tank belches black smoke into the air above. "Well, he's not really a pet," Ninten shouts out over the sound of the tank churning and the wind passing by. He clamps his cap firm on his head with his free hand. "Thank you for helping out, everybody! My name is Ninten."
As Ninten speaks, the stockier of the two robots in the striped uniforms, wearing a white cap on its head and equipped with a wide mechanical glove on its left hand, rises up from within the tank onto its roof.
Its eyes activate, staring forward blankly. Its gloved hand raises up. Energy sparks between the fingers of its glove towards a central point, forming a small, searing ball of energy hovering over its palm.
In three successive motions, it winds up.
The ball screams forward, facing Tepet Inatera, threatening to break the link of followers holding on as the tank zooms down the streets on the outskirts of Bordertown.
"Only moderately?!" Seki shouts, grinning like some kind of lunatic!, "I'll do it on one leg, then!" And, he does. Because telling an Exalt that they're half assing the danger factor is basicly asking for it. "AH-HA HA HA HAH!"
"Just watch your hands, buddy. The pirate code would demand I'd fight you in a duel of honor if you were being untoward towards my student and protege, and..." Seki shrugs, "You look like you could take me so that'd just suck all around." The Kaizoku hops over a rogue manhole, and then..., "Inatera, look out!"
Sudden ball incoming?!
Inatera can't use her panolpy of dodge Charms now. Being able to turn into fire and avoid being hit by a laser beam would be really cool, but she expects that the people clinging to her couldn't endure holding on to fire. Lera, perhaps. Even she, though, might not be able to keep her grip on it. As such, she is forced to resort to the use of the dainty piece of jade jewelry she is wearing over her forehead -
She slams her head forwards at the last moment, trying to catch the baseball right square on it. It... kind of works, in that Inatera's head is not blown off. It does NOT work in the sense that she is briefly knocked unconscious by the laser blast. However, she hasn't let go of Seki! Yet.
Yet.
"Oh, damn, to hell with this!" Lera shouts, as she sees the ball impact Inatera in the forehead and go unconscious. The young redhead spits in disgust, before she looks at the tank. "Hold on, Captain Seki! It's time for... the Elegant Boost Assistance Method!"
She skates around on the soles of her feet - scraping them on the ground, causing a few sparks, and then leaps. She flies up, holding onto Ninten, and lands on Seki's shoulders, before she throws the boy right for the tank and the robot. Then, she takes her jump.
"Hyaaaah!"
Jack watches the Elegant Boost Assistance Method with quite a bit of awe. Well, he would be awestruck were he not so focused on holding on for dear life. Either way he finds it pretty impressive.
"I am called Jack!" he responses to Ninten before the boy is taken and launched onto the tank. While the samurai could probably capable of leaping onto the tank as well he's too polite to use Seki as a springboard, especially after the pirate's comment earlier about honor.
Are you sure? Seki's head is just...there.
All springboardy.
Ninten holds his cap onto his head as he hangs onto the cable, running to save his life. "Oh no! Is she okay? Huff... puff... it's getting kinda hard to breathe, here..." It's all that smoke pouring out of the tank - it's aggravating his asthma. Ninten begins to stumble, just barely recovering, before he finds Lera ahead of him reaching back and grabbing him before leaping. "Whooaaaa!" Ninten wheezes heavily, but tries his best to keep up, tumbling uncomfortably in the air as he pulls for the baseball bat he has strapped to his backpack. "Okay... okay..." Ninten fights to catch his breath.
The boy in the striped shirt sails in the air, slowed down. Energy arcs between the fingers on the pitcher's glove. The pitcher winds up, cast against a thick cloud of black exhaust.
The ball sails against black.
SMAAAASH!!
The ball of energy sails, reflected back, and sears through the body of the stocky pitcher. The robot looks down at the sparking hole in its body, and then explodes. Its parts fly up, cast against the red and black sky. Ninten, for his part, all but collapses onto the top of the tank in front of Seki, wheezing. "In... in... in, in, in, inha... ler..." He raps against his backpack - he keeps a few on hand at any given time.
By this point, the machine has passed into the fields outside Bordertown. Thick clouds of wheat surround on all sides except behind, where the tank has threshed and paved over it, leaving behind a white line of paint. The tank rears into a wide turn, shifting into the next side of a diamond. A new machine rises up on the rear of the tank, manned by an armored robot with a steel caged facemask and molded metal padding. The barrel of a cannon telescopes out against the passing wheat. The basket attached to the cannon begins to fill, a Jacob's ladder sparking energy between two spheres and producing more of the balls of energy, descending to load into the weapon.
"Kid!" Seki snaps, his eyes widening at the prospect..., "Jack! Step on me and pass the kid up! I'll fish through for his inhaler dingus while you guys try and take out that tank before it, y'know, atomizes us! Quick!"
Why is he posing so small? Because it is not time for purple prose, but for ACTION.
"Ugh," Inatera says, eyes fluttering back up. She's snuggling with Seki, she thinks. Did I get drunk enough? No, atomizing, something moving. Yes, she thinks, we were having a drink in a seedy bar and -
Her eyes flick all the way open as the blood of the Dragons tells. She raises her daiklave and shouts at Seki, despite him being right there, "What is going on?!"
Lera is thankfully already in midair, and seeing the spheres of electrical energy lowering into the cannon that just popped up. She sucks in her breath and takes a gamble; flame erupts from her hands, shooting down at the electricity cannon, as the Dragon-Blooded throws out both of her feet and prepares for her landing. She hits the top of the tank and skids, then, turning around to face the robots. "Be careful! If that didn't work, that thing might still fire!"
Despite his original reluctance Jack springs into action when Seki tells him to. In a swift motion the samurai vaults up over the captain and onto the top of the tank. He slashes at the cannon as he passes in hopes of disabling then reaches to scoop up Ninten again.
"Inhaler?" he asks, confused as to what Ninten is talking about. Regardless he unzips the backpack and starts searching through it.
"Can you climb up here?" Jack calls back after a bit of looking. Besides needing some help finding the darn thing he definitely doesn't want anyone to possibly be in the cannon if it's still functioning.
Ninten struggles to breathe, sprawled on the tank past the automated pitcher machinegun. Jack springs into action, and as he begins to rifle through the backpack, Ninten, though unable to speak, is at least still alert enough to crane his neck and point out one of his plastic disposable inhalers. He picks it up when Jack settles on it, holding it to his mouth and nose, and releases the inhaler, sighing. "Th... thanks, Jack." Ninten smiles back to him, tossing the inhaler aside and clutching his bat firmer.
The automatic pitcher cannon, meanwhile, is targeted by a one-two punch. The first attack from Jack cuts cleanly through the center of the weapon, sending it sparking and lopsided. The catcher robot swivels in his seat attached to the weapon, directing it on Jack and Ninten in response, and leaving him helpless to defend himself against the incoming Cathak Lera. Four energy balls are launched at Jack while Ninten is recovering. Before any more can be fired, Lera's elemental flame erupts, superheating the weapon and igniting its damaged power core in a dangerous way. The catcher robot's eyes light up in alarm, shortly before the weapon goes up in a wide explosion (better watch yourselves, Seki and Inatera). The upshot of this is that the damage done by the explosion seems to have stopped the tank, as well.
The tank lies in the middle of the sky blue wheatfield, dead. The smoke ahead slowly begins to dissipate, although it will take awhile. A crow caws somewhere in the distance.
In a quick rush, the doors of the tank vehicle open at the same moment, and three remaining striped-uniform robots slide to steal out of it into the wheatfield, breaking into a run. One of them, tall and slender, carries the orange little fuzzball, which squeaks in weak distress.
None of the robots last long, each tripping on something or other in the wheatfield. In short order, there are a mass of tiny, colorful creatures swarming on each robot.
The wheatfield is half-plowed with half of a white diamond inscribed in the beaten soil, as calm blue wheat sways gently in the other half of the field. The black spiked tank quietly burns.
Seki doesn't mind the shouting, that's how he knows she's okay. "Well, Jack, and his kid brother or something, had this pet, see, and these evil uniformed robots stole it so, naturally, I went in hot persuit, and you guys tagged along, and you got shot in the head a little. Also, you said I had a nice ass, but I'm going to assume that's the trauma talking."
"Can you?" Seki turns the boisterousness down a little-he doesn't want Inatera getting herself killed because she was too proud to tell him she needed a minute to recover. And then the dang thing-"For the love of Daana'd's drawers. Hold on!" Seki mutters, kicking his foot out, grabbing Inatera by the shoulders (Seki, as always, is remarkably chaste for a self proclaimed horn dog), and kicking his feet, suddenly supported by Cabin Girl, trying to ride the explosion like some kind of crazed... explosion.... surfer... dude!
Yeah. Watch out.
Inatera seems to be doing poorly on initative today. "I did?" she says at Seki's statement, before the explosion begins and she is womanhandled outwards, supported indirectly by Seki's sorcerous sword! Her own raises, although the razor-thin daiklave will make for poor shielding against a plasmic explosion!
That blue wheat's probably kinda screwed, though.
Jack finds himself unable to respond to all four of he energy balls. The first one manages to catch him on the shoulder and tear his robes, the second narrowly misses his head, the third strikes him in the side and further batters his clothing, and through some luck the fourth is deflected by Jack's sword. Unfortunately for him and Ninten that isn't the end of their problems as the tank begins to explode shortly afterward.
Thankfully Jack can "jump good". In a rush he grabs hold of Ninten and the backpack and makes a massive leap and roll into the wheat and away from the tank. Chances are he'll wind up taking part of the explosion for Ninten though in the process.
Lera, unfortunately, goes flying - she wasn't fully ready for that explosion. She hurtles right over Seki and Inatera's heads, and hardly has the grace that Jack demonstrates now. She hits the ground, rolls a few times, and then groans. "Always forget about the explosions," she mutters.
"Oh, goodness," Ninten says, as he sees the explosion impending. He'd say something else, but he scarcely has the time before it begins to rush outward. The little boy clutches onto the samurai warrior tight, Jack providing shielding for him against the energy balls, and then the force of the blast... but the latter isn't necessary for long. After the initial burst outward, an invisible force seems to waft the fires of the explosion up and inward, rising into the air, away from the wheat fields and the li'l wheatland creatures, back away from the Dynasts and Jack and the boy again. As Jack lands from jumping good, the boy Ninten steps lightly back onto the ground, eyes closed in concentration, free hand with a finger on his head. "There we go..." As the invisible force no longer is necessary to act on the fires, Ninten's eyes open slowly, and he lowers his hand. A bright smile then spreads on his face. "Well... I guess that's over now! Thank you for your help, everybody! I think I would have been in a real pickle without all of you, and so would my little friend there. That was kinda scary, wasn't it? Is anybody hurt?" He walks over, peering with curious concern. He may not be a veterinarian, but he has a way with wounds. Looks like he's also looking for that little orange one, that's now crawled away from one of the fallen robots - the others of its kind have gathered around it.
"No, no, I'm good."
Is what Seki would say were he not buried, head first, in the dirt.
He'll...be a while.
WHEN: The future, where my evil is law
WHAT: Jack's travels have brought him to Bordertown, on the outskirts of a wide field now targeted for paving over and use by Aku's allies. While a trio of Dynasts converse in a seedy bar, a little boy bursts in with a sickly animal native to the local fields, calling for help.
WATCH FOR: The Elegant Boost Assistance method, and an answer to the eternal question: how springboardy is Seki's head?
The sky-blue wheat has been growing tall and healthy. The sun has begun to slowly set in the west, casting the sky a deep orange. There is an oscillating chitter, and then another. One pair of beady eyes opens, obscured some between the stalks of wheat. The creature extends its little purple hornlike nose, giving out another chitter. Another pair of eyes opens in the wheatfield, and a pink creature extends its tiny paws, peering out from its post crawling on the stalk. The little ball-shaped creatures chirp and jabber happily at each other.
A heavy sound grows on the horizon. The sky is red; black smoke gathers overhead.
The little creatures jabber in a panic and scatter, jumping from stalk to stalk, bending the wheat until it bounces back. Two red dots light up against the smog-filled sky. A tall, spindly black robot in a striped uniform directs its spiked field-clearing tank in a turn, paving over the wheat of the field. Another robot in the same uniform follows behind, slouched low to the ground, painting a white line behind the machine.
Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shapeshifting master of darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil.
But a foolish samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose me.
Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future, where my evil is law.
Now, the fool seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that is Aku.
Black spires tower over a blood-red sky in one of Aku's border towns, on the outskirts of an open expanse of Earth which has yet to be subject to the industrial paving of the aliens who come from across the galaxy to Aku's world: bounty hunters, opportunists, industrialists, strip-miners. In a seedy bar in this border outpost, smoke fills the air. Robots in fedoras and pinstripe suits are seated playing cards with dark brown lobster-creatures with eyepatches and tattoos. The doors of the futuristic black saloon slide open, and a pair of tiny red LED eyes peer inside. The spindly robot slides its head one side with a whirr to observe the patrons, then another, and then walks past the patrons, raising an arm to begin posting on the bar's notice board. Next to a profile shot of a samurai warrior noting 'ANSWERS TO JACK' and with a sizable bounty price attached, the robot posts a note with large text: 'JOBS AVAILABLE - Clearing Local Vermin - Pays Well - New Stadium Under Construction.'
Heat waves rise out of one of the corners of the seedy bar, a particuarly surly-looking robot sitting, somewhat foreshortened, on the ground. That robot is facing away from a steel table, which is occupied by pathetic flesh-sacks. Of course, one of the pathetic flesh-sacks is still surrounded by a faintly luminous field of flame, even if it's dimmed enough to feel more like sitting near a fireplace rather than near a blast furnace.
"You just can't let the robots push you around," Inatera tells her companions, hands folded on the tabletop, Hound's Sixth Tooth resting leaning against her thigh. "Certainly they are pleasant enough, but if you let them manage that 'flesh-bag' nonsense, you just end up pressed down by the metal man." She drums her fingers on the table, then, with a faint rat-a-tat.
"Oh, look at that," she observes, pointing towards the incoming figure with the sign. "Isn't it quaint? It's positively barbaric out here." While she isn't shouting, she's not lowering her voice very well, either.
"'Pressed down'?" Peleps Kaizoku Seki shakes his head, clucking his tounge in prim dissaproval. "'tera, 'tera, 'tera. When will you learn basic social skills?" Seki leans a hand around his other companion's shoulders. "Our young friend here is still an innocent, Inatera, and little comments like that, even if it has been a while since you've gotten pressed down by anything interesting, will only lead to the corrosion of her moral center."
"Huh, that sounded dirty too." Seki blinks, rubbing the back of his head. "Man, everything can sound dirty if you give it the right spin. It's like I'm trapped in a world of innuendo and double entendre! Trapped... forever!"
Seki then whistles at the price, "Gotta admit, it's nice to be worth that kinda cash. Can't buy rep like that."
"Oh, Captain Seki, it is quite all right, I have been pressed--" Lera is thankfully interrupted when her drink arrives. She smiles at the robot waiter, tips her fingers to her brow, and gives him a little salute. "Oh, why, thank you! I do hope I will find this drink good. I always enjoy local specialties." She lifts it up, and takes a sip, before she looks back at Inatera.
"I believe I heard of worlds like this," she states. "Something to the effect of welcoming a robot overlord. I hardly see why, though." She takes a sip of her drink. "After all, robot overlords hardly have the grace of the dragons with them."
At about this time a man in a white robe and a large straw hat enters through the saloon door. He walks with his head down, never making eye-contact as he makes his way across the floor and takes a seat far away from the crowd. The patrons gathered are likely eyeing him warily, especially if they've noticed the wanted poster. Whether or not they will act however remains to be seen.
Perhaps the strangest thing is that the man doesn't seem to be bothered by whatever stares he receives. Instead he simply continues about his business and takes a seat at the bar and quietly orders something to drink.
"Rrrrobots," one of the crustacean aliens growls, his antennae twitching as he lays out four aces and a queen on the table. "Don't get me started about the rrrrobots." One of the gangster robots it's playing against raises its head mechanically, adjusting its fedora as it stares at him silently. "Yeah? That's rrrright. I'm talkin' 'bout you. You wanna step outside?"
The entrance of the stranger in the white robe casts a sudden silence on the bar. A lot of strangers pass through these parts, of course - but word travels, and that outfit looks familiar. The aliens and the robots exchange silent glances, words being said without any sound.
Beady electronic eyes.
Twitching antennae.
"You guys!!" A little boy in a cap and a striped shirt, who can't be over thirteen years old and is probably younger, runs into the bar, apparently having looked for some distance for a building with people to duck into. He cradles a little orange puffball about the size of a squirrel, coughing weakly and looking rather sickly. "Does anybody know where I can find a veterinarian?!"
The entire bar.
The uproarious laughter that follows is probably the only thing that prevents anybody from drawing a weapon. A couple of spindly robots in striped uniforms rise from their seats, quietly walking over towards the boy.
Seki blinks, once, briefly...
...no. That's just. No. Never happened. She's taking the mickey out on him. He's going to kick Nigele's ass. Or should he kick her ass for taking advantage of Niegle's innocence? Seki can never remember how that works.
Seki makes a mental note to try and recruit this Jack into the Mithril Alliance, since this place looks pretty damn evil overlordy. And then the whole bar is laughing at that poor little kid! "Hoo! Veterinarian!" Seki slaps his knee, because he can be a jerk sometimes, though the laughter seems more...forced, as he notices the uniformed robots stand, and his hand lazily lulls in the general direction of his boot. His compnaions are probably well aware that Seki makes it a policy to try and hide a weapon just about everywhere, decency permitting of course.
Inatera fu fu fus to herself and raises an eyebrow. "Perhaps I should have asked him to dinner?" She then smiles at Lera, perhaps indulgently, and leans back in the chair to avoid heating the drink excessively.
She squints at the sign then. "Hmm, well," she muses aloud, "it is certainly dramatic." She looks at Lera to ask her, "Have you had a price put on your head in any quarters? It's certainly an endorsement when it happens... as long as it's a high price."
Then, of course, the question comes out, and Inatera is distracted by Seki for a moment, mishearing the word. "A veteran?" she says over the laughter, looking at Lera with a frown. "He must have some military question. Come on," she continues, rising to her feet and picking up her magical blade. "We should educate him - and you are less fiery than I."
The man in the white robe does not turn around when the boy enters the bar and the laughter begins but he does seem to be paying attention. Though his hat does obscure his eyes quite a bit the man definitely seems to be glancing around the bar and acessing the situation. Subtly, he extends a hand and and tries to wave the boy over. It's not a very noticeable gesture, especially in recent confusion, but it's certainly there. Whether or not the boy and his fuzzball make their way over the to the man in the white robe will be up to how well they are paying attention.
Otherwise he sips his drink quietly and continues his policy of not making eye-contact with his fellow patrons.
"Might have gone better," Lera says, with a sigh. She would pat Inatera on the shoulder, but complicated social rituals prevent her from doing just that. Instead, she smiles over a drink she may not be old enough to have, and then takes another sip of it before she looks at Seki - and tries to figure out what seems so funny about a veterinarian. Thn, she looks at the boy, for a moment, and nods her head.
"None yet," she says, "but a goal to strive for!" The younger officer stands up, dusting herself off, and smiles wider as she approaches Ninten.
"You seek a veteran?" she asks. "We are such!"
Ninten, it seems, has misheard in turn, looking up to Lera and Inatera as they approach him, with a relieved smile. "Oh, thank you! There's been some kind of, um... strippity-mall construction or something? And I found this little guy, and he says his people have been getting hurt! Isn't that right?" Ninten looks down to the orange thing he's cradling in his arms, which gives a tired, elongated squeak out of its nose-horn. "I'll pay for his hospital fees but you've got to help him. He's really sick, and I think he's hurt." Ninten reaches up to Lera, holding out the orange squeakball to be picked up, and then his eyes roll to the side. He didn't notice the visual gesture from the man in white, but he just barely heard an inviting thought from the crowd. "I'm, um. I'm gonna get a milk!"
Ninten disappears into the shadows of the crowd, bumping awkwardly between heavily-armed pig-beasts and slender, ragged aliens, looking over to the man in the straw hat. His "Hello?" is quiet and low-key, lost in the noise of the bar for most. Equally low-key is the light brushing of one of the striped-uniform robots by the Dynasts, which may bump the orange creature out of the kind of light cradling hold it needs, and then the quiet motion to pick the orange creature up as the robot moves smoothly out of the bar.
The uniformed robots didn't attack.
"Damnit." Seki swears to himself, easing his gun back into its hidden holster. This can't be good. Smart spies?! Only one thing to do.
"*beepboopbeep* Sasstron Theta, your jest does not compute. Surely the Crabulons are good for more than serving as the meaty foundation of a delicious crab taco salad! For example: Baltamore Crab Soup, Crab Cakes, and several other similar confections! Begin hilarity protocol!"
Again glad that he took that ventriloquism class in primary school, Seki subtly gets up, and jerks with his finger towards the door. "When the first chair's thrown, run."
"Oh, a doctor," Inatera says, looking at the orangey thing with confusion. It's - alive? What IS it... Of course, then the things bump up ahead, and during this time, a sudden whirr from over to the side distracts her for one crucial moment. Somewhere, a bunch of dice come up '1's.
"We could call Sylene," she says, looking back to Lera, too late?
Lera looks down at the orange thing in her arms with a mix of emotions; she has enough compassion to feel bad for the little animal, as Ninten would certainly not lie - he seems like an earnest child to her! However, she has no idea what it is, and no clue what the animal might need. She nods loosely to him. "I-- I shall do my best," she finally concludes.
She swallows, and then looks back at Inatera. "That may be best. She would know better."
Then, she looks up at Seki; the young woman blinks, in confusion. "What, um, what happened? Are we leaving?" She holds the little orange fluffball up. "He needs help, it would appear!" She is bumped into, then, resulting in a suddenly free, cute, little orange creature. Lera makes a face, and frowns as the robot grabs for it. Her eyes narrow. "Gh... after it!"
"Greetings." the man in white robe replies quietly before taking another sip of his drink. "I do not meant to be abrupt but I think it is best if you keep a close eye on your friend. It is not safe here." the samurai notes, then drinks again. "Also you said you were seeking a veterinarian? I am not entirely familiar with that term but if I understand properly I might be able to help."
"It isn't? Gosh... thanks, mister," Ninten replies to the man in the straw hat. He peers around the perimeter of the bar, and turns back to the man. "Yeah! A veterinarian, you know, a person who went to school to know how to... veteri... nate." He looks confused for a moment, and then adds, "An animal doctor! Well, that is, a doctor for animals, not an animal who is a doctor. Usually they aren't, and I guess an animal could be any kind of doctor it wanted if it got its degree. I believe that people can do anything they want if they put their mind to it!" A big smile spreads across his face.
A narrow view of the robot bumping across Cathak Lera. The little orange fuzzball falls to the ground, thumping and squeaking uncomfortably. It flails its little paws, rolling around on the ground until it gets right side up. Red eyes flash quickly to the side, forming lines in the air.
Crustacean hands slam down onto a table. Oil martinis and cards fly into the air.
"SO YOU THINK WE'RRRRE FUNNY, DO YOU? I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO LAUGH ABOUT!"
A fierce punch sends one of the gangster robots' heads spinning. One of them draws a tommy gun, firing laser bolts, searing through the bar walls. Ninten ducks as a table goes flying. A pig-beast marches past Peleps Kaizoku Seki, looking warily around, until it's jumped by a lobster-man. Beady robot eyes light red in multitudes. One of the striped-uniform robots draws a hiltlike device and pushes a button, ejecting a glowing red laser projection in the shape of a bat, and then swinging the laser bat in a home run smash for Cathak Lera's head in the cover of the brawl. A little boy calls out in the fracas, "Oh no!" A pig-man tries to break a wine bottle on Seki's head. Two striped figures, one smaller and wider than the other, come in with base-stealing slides for the orange creature on the floor.
"Glorious." Seki revels in BAR FIIITTTEEE and then the little thing gets away trapping them in the bar and the kid wanders off and
CRASH.
"...wooo~" Seki squeeks, having been throughly smashed over the head with a wine bottle, his hair dripping with the "wine" as he stumbles in place, his eyes swirls of confused light. Oh noz, who will save him?!
Tepet Inatera.
Inatera is practically right there right away, blurring through the air as she snaps to alertness. She has no idea what's going on, but she has an enormous magical sword and the social authority to cut things up with it. Supporting the stunned Seki with one arm, she shouts out towards Lera, "Do you see what I mean?!" while abruptly slicing towards the pig man with the aforementioned enormous magical sword!
She's barely noticed that the orange thing exists; this may be on Lera's head if she wants to save it from what is doubtless a deadly menace.
When the table goes flying the man in the white robe does not duck, he turns. There is a momentary flash and a zwing sound before the table splits into two around him and Ninten. Samurai Jack sheathes his sword and turns towards Ninten, still halfway in a combat stance. "Ah yes, an animal doctor. I might be able to help with that. But first I am afraid we will have to rescue your friend." Jack states, gesturing towards the door. "I prefer to enjoy my tea in peace anyway, and that certainly will not happen here."
With that said Jack extends a hand towards Ninten. If he takes it the samurai will likely scoop up the boy and take off after the robots who just went after the orange fuzzy creature. So far he seems oblivious to Inatera, Lera and Seki. This could quickly change however now that Jack may have drawn some attention to himself.
Lera's eyes widen, as she sees the beam bat form into existence and swing straight for her head. She doesn't have to think for long - her left hand strikes out, grabbing a bottle by the neck, and she lifts the piece of glass up. When it strikes the beam bat, it glows with a faint red light - and then explodes into flame in her hand. She smiles a little.
"Ten thousand Dragons rule the world!" she snaps at her robotic assailant, before she pushes forward - and delivers a mean kick for its stomach.
She does her best to follow the little orange fuzzball in the chaos, but that proves hard. "Does anyone know why this started?!" she shouts, as she swings her bottle away, and delivers it again in a mighty smack aimed for the robot's head.
The bulbous pig-beast who assaulted Seki is in turn felled effortlessly by Inatera. Two of the striped-uniform robots run out the doors of the saloon. The one with the beam-bat is unable to make a break for it, its blow blocked by ten thousand dragons ruling the world. The vicious kick to its stomach, sending it sprawling backwards into the bar, twisting its spine backwards, shortly before it catches flame and explodes. "You're right," Ninten replies to his new friend, and takes his hand without a second thought, carried off in a leap after the escaping robots. Ninten leans over Jack's back as he carries through the bar, though, calling out to Inatera and then Lera as he passes them. "Missus Veterinarians, somebody took the little guy! -- Are you okay?" It looks dangerous in here! Luckily for Jack, the confusion from the bar brawl has largely concealed people from noticing him springing into action, or remembering he was there. For now, at least - although there are some of those gangster robots, rather successful in the middle of the brawl thanks to their tommy guns, turning their heads sharply now. The little orange fuzzball is, of course, gone - or rather in the hands of one of two striped uniform robots now outside, climbing into an enormous spiked tanklike vehicle and driving away.
"Not because of that handsome pirate fellow!" Seki says in his normal voice, blinking once and shaking his head, annoyed at himself for letting this happen. The 'not keeping the BS up' bit, not the 'causing a bloody bar fight' bit. The Kaizoku steps forward, sticking his tounge out and pulling a pistol out of his coat.
Ka-FIRE! The plunger goes flying through the air, right at the back of the death tank! "Hang on!" Seki, card carrying SPCA member, gets ready to street ski, along with anyone brave enough to come along.
Inatera looks over at the young man, beaming despite being covered in pig-guy blood. "Oh, I'm fine!" she calls, raising her hand from around Seki slightly to waggle fingers in a friendly wave, casually parrying a drunken swing of a chair at her head. She opens her mouth to say more -
But then the street skiing is imminent. "Oh dear," she says aloud, shifting her weight so that when Seki is abruptly jerked forwards, she too will be towed along.
"I saw! They must have made it outside!" Lera says to Ninten, before she turns - leaving the damaged robot behind. She frowns; then, as she rushes out, she sees Seki fire his plunger gun. "This seems... moderately dangerous," she concludes, before grabbing a hold of Inatera and making a Dragon-Blooded train. "But I see little other option at this point!"
Despite his better judgment Samurai Jack also latches onto the chain as he exits the establishment. Even if it is dangerous the truth is that staying near the bar is more so. Besides, the samurai has done quite a few things that were more dangerous before. "Hold on!" he says to the boy in tow. He then turns to look at Lena, who he has just grabbed a hold of. "My apologies miss, my friend is trying to rescue his pet."
The paving tank zooms off at speeds improbable for a machine of its bulk, Ninten being the last to grab onto the chain, just barely in time. The tank, and the collection of Dynasts and then non-Dynasts trailing it, go speeding down paved roads between black citadels and seedy alleys, as the tank belches black smoke into the air above. "Well, he's not really a pet," Ninten shouts out over the sound of the tank churning and the wind passing by. He clamps his cap firm on his head with his free hand. "Thank you for helping out, everybody! My name is Ninten."
As Ninten speaks, the stockier of the two robots in the striped uniforms, wearing a white cap on its head and equipped with a wide mechanical glove on its left hand, rises up from within the tank onto its roof.
Its eyes activate, staring forward blankly. Its gloved hand raises up. Energy sparks between the fingers of its glove towards a central point, forming a small, searing ball of energy hovering over its palm.
In three successive motions, it winds up.
The ball screams forward, facing Tepet Inatera, threatening to break the link of followers holding on as the tank zooms down the streets on the outskirts of Bordertown.
"Only moderately?!" Seki shouts, grinning like some kind of lunatic!, "I'll do it on one leg, then!" And, he does. Because telling an Exalt that they're half assing the danger factor is basicly asking for it. "AH-HA HA HA HAH!"
"Just watch your hands, buddy. The pirate code would demand I'd fight you in a duel of honor if you were being untoward towards my student and protege, and..." Seki shrugs, "You look like you could take me so that'd just suck all around." The Kaizoku hops over a rogue manhole, and then..., "Inatera, look out!"
Sudden ball incoming?!
Inatera can't use her panolpy of dodge Charms now. Being able to turn into fire and avoid being hit by a laser beam would be really cool, but she expects that the people clinging to her couldn't endure holding on to fire. Lera, perhaps. Even she, though, might not be able to keep her grip on it. As such, she is forced to resort to the use of the dainty piece of jade jewelry she is wearing over her forehead -
She slams her head forwards at the last moment, trying to catch the baseball right square on it. It... kind of works, in that Inatera's head is not blown off. It does NOT work in the sense that she is briefly knocked unconscious by the laser blast. However, she hasn't let go of Seki! Yet.
Yet.
"Oh, damn, to hell with this!" Lera shouts, as she sees the ball impact Inatera in the forehead and go unconscious. The young redhead spits in disgust, before she looks at the tank. "Hold on, Captain Seki! It's time for... the Elegant Boost Assistance Method!"
She skates around on the soles of her feet - scraping them on the ground, causing a few sparks, and then leaps. She flies up, holding onto Ninten, and lands on Seki's shoulders, before she throws the boy right for the tank and the robot. Then, she takes her jump.
"Hyaaaah!"
Jack watches the Elegant Boost Assistance Method with quite a bit of awe. Well, he would be awestruck were he not so focused on holding on for dear life. Either way he finds it pretty impressive.
"I am called Jack!" he responses to Ninten before the boy is taken and launched onto the tank. While the samurai could probably capable of leaping onto the tank as well he's too polite to use Seki as a springboard, especially after the pirate's comment earlier about honor.
Are you sure? Seki's head is just...there.
All springboardy.
Ninten holds his cap onto his head as he hangs onto the cable, running to save his life. "Oh no! Is she okay? Huff... puff... it's getting kinda hard to breathe, here..." It's all that smoke pouring out of the tank - it's aggravating his asthma. Ninten begins to stumble, just barely recovering, before he finds Lera ahead of him reaching back and grabbing him before leaping. "Whooaaaa!" Ninten wheezes heavily, but tries his best to keep up, tumbling uncomfortably in the air as he pulls for the baseball bat he has strapped to his backpack. "Okay... okay..." Ninten fights to catch his breath.
The boy in the striped shirt sails in the air, slowed down. Energy arcs between the fingers on the pitcher's glove. The pitcher winds up, cast against a thick cloud of black exhaust.
The ball sails against black.
SMAAAASH!!
The ball of energy sails, reflected back, and sears through the body of the stocky pitcher. The robot looks down at the sparking hole in its body, and then explodes. Its parts fly up, cast against the red and black sky. Ninten, for his part, all but collapses onto the top of the tank in front of Seki, wheezing. "In... in... in, in, in, inha... ler..." He raps against his backpack - he keeps a few on hand at any given time.
By this point, the machine has passed into the fields outside Bordertown. Thick clouds of wheat surround on all sides except behind, where the tank has threshed and paved over it, leaving behind a white line of paint. The tank rears into a wide turn, shifting into the next side of a diamond. A new machine rises up on the rear of the tank, manned by an armored robot with a steel caged facemask and molded metal padding. The barrel of a cannon telescopes out against the passing wheat. The basket attached to the cannon begins to fill, a Jacob's ladder sparking energy between two spheres and producing more of the balls of energy, descending to load into the weapon.
"Kid!" Seki snaps, his eyes widening at the prospect..., "Jack! Step on me and pass the kid up! I'll fish through for his inhaler dingus while you guys try and take out that tank before it, y'know, atomizes us! Quick!"
Why is he posing so small? Because it is not time for purple prose, but for ACTION.
"Ugh," Inatera says, eyes fluttering back up. She's snuggling with Seki, she thinks. Did I get drunk enough? No, atomizing, something moving. Yes, she thinks, we were having a drink in a seedy bar and -
Her eyes flick all the way open as the blood of the Dragons tells. She raises her daiklave and shouts at Seki, despite him being right there, "What is going on?!"
Lera is thankfully already in midair, and seeing the spheres of electrical energy lowering into the cannon that just popped up. She sucks in her breath and takes a gamble; flame erupts from her hands, shooting down at the electricity cannon, as the Dragon-Blooded throws out both of her feet and prepares for her landing. She hits the top of the tank and skids, then, turning around to face the robots. "Be careful! If that didn't work, that thing might still fire!"
Despite his original reluctance Jack springs into action when Seki tells him to. In a swift motion the samurai vaults up over the captain and onto the top of the tank. He slashes at the cannon as he passes in hopes of disabling then reaches to scoop up Ninten again.
"Inhaler?" he asks, confused as to what Ninten is talking about. Regardless he unzips the backpack and starts searching through it.
"Can you climb up here?" Jack calls back after a bit of looking. Besides needing some help finding the darn thing he definitely doesn't want anyone to possibly be in the cannon if it's still functioning.
Ninten struggles to breathe, sprawled on the tank past the automated pitcher machinegun. Jack springs into action, and as he begins to rifle through the backpack, Ninten, though unable to speak, is at least still alert enough to crane his neck and point out one of his plastic disposable inhalers. He picks it up when Jack settles on it, holding it to his mouth and nose, and releases the inhaler, sighing. "Th... thanks, Jack." Ninten smiles back to him, tossing the inhaler aside and clutching his bat firmer.
The automatic pitcher cannon, meanwhile, is targeted by a one-two punch. The first attack from Jack cuts cleanly through the center of the weapon, sending it sparking and lopsided. The catcher robot swivels in his seat attached to the weapon, directing it on Jack and Ninten in response, and leaving him helpless to defend himself against the incoming Cathak Lera. Four energy balls are launched at Jack while Ninten is recovering. Before any more can be fired, Lera's elemental flame erupts, superheating the weapon and igniting its damaged power core in a dangerous way. The catcher robot's eyes light up in alarm, shortly before the weapon goes up in a wide explosion (better watch yourselves, Seki and Inatera). The upshot of this is that the damage done by the explosion seems to have stopped the tank, as well.
The tank lies in the middle of the sky blue wheatfield, dead. The smoke ahead slowly begins to dissipate, although it will take awhile. A crow caws somewhere in the distance.
In a quick rush, the doors of the tank vehicle open at the same moment, and three remaining striped-uniform robots slide to steal out of it into the wheatfield, breaking into a run. One of them, tall and slender, carries the orange little fuzzball, which squeaks in weak distress.
None of the robots last long, each tripping on something or other in the wheatfield. In short order, there are a mass of tiny, colorful creatures swarming on each robot.
The wheatfield is half-plowed with half of a white diamond inscribed in the beaten soil, as calm blue wheat sways gently in the other half of the field. The black spiked tank quietly burns.
Seki doesn't mind the shouting, that's how he knows she's okay. "Well, Jack, and his kid brother or something, had this pet, see, and these evil uniformed robots stole it so, naturally, I went in hot persuit, and you guys tagged along, and you got shot in the head a little. Also, you said I had a nice ass, but I'm going to assume that's the trauma talking."
"Can you?" Seki turns the boisterousness down a little-he doesn't want Inatera getting herself killed because she was too proud to tell him she needed a minute to recover. And then the dang thing-"For the love of Daana'd's drawers. Hold on!" Seki mutters, kicking his foot out, grabbing Inatera by the shoulders (Seki, as always, is remarkably chaste for a self proclaimed horn dog), and kicking his feet, suddenly supported by Cabin Girl, trying to ride the explosion like some kind of crazed... explosion.... surfer... dude!
Yeah. Watch out.
Inatera seems to be doing poorly on initative today. "I did?" she says at Seki's statement, before the explosion begins and she is womanhandled outwards, supported indirectly by Seki's sorcerous sword! Her own raises, although the razor-thin daiklave will make for poor shielding against a plasmic explosion!
That blue wheat's probably kinda screwed, though.
Jack finds himself unable to respond to all four of he energy balls. The first one manages to catch him on the shoulder and tear his robes, the second narrowly misses his head, the third strikes him in the side and further batters his clothing, and through some luck the fourth is deflected by Jack's sword. Unfortunately for him and Ninten that isn't the end of their problems as the tank begins to explode shortly afterward.
Thankfully Jack can "jump good". In a rush he grabs hold of Ninten and the backpack and makes a massive leap and roll into the wheat and away from the tank. Chances are he'll wind up taking part of the explosion for Ninten though in the process.
Lera, unfortunately, goes flying - she wasn't fully ready for that explosion. She hurtles right over Seki and Inatera's heads, and hardly has the grace that Jack demonstrates now. She hits the ground, rolls a few times, and then groans. "Always forget about the explosions," she mutters.
"Oh, goodness," Ninten says, as he sees the explosion impending. He'd say something else, but he scarcely has the time before it begins to rush outward. The little boy clutches onto the samurai warrior tight, Jack providing shielding for him against the energy balls, and then the force of the blast... but the latter isn't necessary for long. After the initial burst outward, an invisible force seems to waft the fires of the explosion up and inward, rising into the air, away from the wheat fields and the li'l wheatland creatures, back away from the Dynasts and Jack and the boy again. As Jack lands from jumping good, the boy Ninten steps lightly back onto the ground, eyes closed in concentration, free hand with a finger on his head. "There we go..." As the invisible force no longer is necessary to act on the fires, Ninten's eyes open slowly, and he lowers his hand. A bright smile then spreads on his face. "Well... I guess that's over now! Thank you for your help, everybody! I think I would have been in a real pickle without all of you, and so would my little friend there. That was kinda scary, wasn't it? Is anybody hurt?" He walks over, peering with curious concern. He may not be a veterinarian, but he has a way with wounds. Looks like he's also looking for that little orange one, that's now crawled away from one of the fallen robots - the others of its kind have gathered around it.
"No, no, I'm good."
Is what Seki would say were he not buried, head first, in the dirt.
He'll...be a while.